


Angel

by Carol_Molliniere



Series: The Society of Weird Feelings [11]
Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Other, Religious Content, Unrequited Love, sort of???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 18:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12870774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carol_Molliniere/pseuds/Carol_Molliniere
Summary: Virginia was a vision, no doubt - she made him believe there was a God in heaven.





	Angel

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I mentioned a lot of religious things in this fanfic. If that makes you uncomfortable, you are free to turn away.
> 
> Anyway, this is basically Pining Part 2 ft. Religious Undertones and Tweedy Being Lovesick. Enjoy!

Virginia Ito was a vision.

It wasn't like Tweedy had ever tried to deny it. In fact, ever since he had confessed to her that he liked her, he had told people that he had thought that way about her.

Besides, saying that and admitting that he still thought of her that way were two completely different things, right?

All correct. He still thought Virginia was beautiful, charming, intelligent, and all around the perfect woman. There was nothing to be ashamed of, right? Well, ahem, there wouldn't have been if he hadn't told everyone that he was over her already.

Why had he told everyone that? Was he really that convinced that he could just brush off what he felt about her once he got some closure?

Moreover, why was he still feeling that way about her? She had rejected him. It was clear she had no interest in him. So why was he still interested in her?

Those were all very good questions. But unlike the questions of scientific investigation, he could probably sleep them off. Maybe they would be gone in the morning.

Maybe the reason he was asking them would be gone in the morning, too.

 

* * *

 

“Who's that lady?”

“Oh, her?” Andrew Doddle asked, looking up from the tray of sweetmeats he had made. Tweedy was looking at a woman passing by, a row of bottles filled with various colorful chemicals attached to her belt. He grinned. “Interested?”

“What? No, of course not!” Tweedy laughed. “That's the new Lodger, right?”

“That she is.” Doddle then went on, “I heard her name was Virginia Ito. She's a neoalchemist studying under Dr. Jekyll.”

“I didn't know Dr. Jekyll studied anything,” Tweedy said. “I just thought he was a doctor very interested in mad science.” He tilted his head. “She looks Oriental.”

“She is.” Doddle said. “And that's all she's told us. Apparently it's become aware to her very quickly that we few Lodgers have loose tongues.”

“Mm-hmm.” Tweedy said. “Well, it's funny that it hasn't reached me. Maybe I ought to go and introduce myself to her.”

“You ought to.” Doddle replied. Then he held up his tray. “But first, try some of these sweets and tell me what you think.”

 

* * *

 

He never regretted getting to know Virginia. Of course he wouldn't; friends were nice to make, and it was good for everyone at the Society to know about each other. Not to mention he had finally had feelings for someone because of her. He had thought he was sort of weird for not being attracted to many others before.

It was so strange, though. What qualities of her had attracted him to her? He knew it definitely wasn't love at first sight. Sure, he thought that she was beautiful at first, but he couldn't see himself entering in a courtship with her back then.

But now he could.

It was as if he had been given a message, a prophecy, from the heavens one day – that there was a person he was to feel a great deal of affections for, and that that person was close to him.

He and Virginia were indeed closer than they both cared to admit. She always helped him when he was in a pinch with some insulators, and in turn he was always happy to lend a spark to some of her concoctions when it was needed.

Then Tweedy began to like her – and he saw her for what she was.

A blessed creation of God, out of arm's reach.

 

* * *

 

Helsby walked up to Tweedy. “Hey, Tweedy,” he said, “you know how Ito's not that into romance?”

“I know,” Tweedy said. “It's a little strange, when you think about it. I mean, there are lots of single female Lodgers around here, but they are a little romantic from time to time. Ito's not like that at all. She just sees work.”

Helsby grinned slyly. “Well, how about we take her mind off that for a minute?”

Tweedy narrowed his eyes. “What are you planning, Ranjit?”

“You seem to be very happy helping her out, and she seems to like helping you in turn when she's not busy spending hours with Jekyll's lessons,” Helsby said. He leaned on the table Tweedy was sitting at. “Do you think she has a secret thing for you?”

The machine that Tweedy had been working on sparked as if on cue, and Tweedy jumped back even though he was wearing rubber gloves. He looked up at Helsby. “Are you mad?” he asked. “She never felt that way about anyone before, why would she think that way about someone now?” He looked away. “Why would she think that way about _me_?”

“Think about it, Baxter!” Helsby said. “People never say things if it's embarrassing to them. And with this image that Ito's supposedly built up, she might not be of the mind to share that she's been finally thinking of romance! How about we stir it up within her?”

“Maybe Ito isn't building up an image; maybe she just doesn't think about romance,” Tweedy returned. He sighed, and looked back down at his machine. “I mean, it would be fun to know who she's fallen for, but–” He cut himself off.

What was he going to say?

Helsby leaned in closer, his glasses shining eerily.

“Aren't you at least a little interested in what she thinks?” Helsby said. “Maybe she just needs a little push from you.”

“From me? I'm not all that charming.” Tweedy looked over his machine, trying to avoid Helsby's gaze. “It'd probably take Jekyll to get something out of her.”

“What if you tried to be charming yourself, then?” Helsby persisted.

Tweedy tried to smile. “How would I be so?”

“I don't know, you tell me,” Helsby said.

Tweedy stared at him.

“Why're you coming to me for this?”

Helsby grinned. “Because it seems you and Ito would make a fine couple.”

Tweedy turned the machine off. But he wasn't mad – he was thinking.

That...him and Ito...

It did honestly seem like a fine idea.

 

* * *

 

Tweedy wasn't a religious man.

But after he had fallen for Virginia, it had seemed as if God was showing up in his life for once. It was evident that this world couldn't be made by anything other than a benevolent deity if Virginia existed in it.

Okay, that was maybe a little fantastical, but the idea of God Himself was fantastical. And yet Virginia was real, so why couldn't God be real?

Then the second message from the heavens came.

 

* * *

 

“Tweedy.”

Tweedy snapped out of his thoughts. He looked at Virginia.

“You were supposed to electrocute the chemicals on my command,” Virginia said, crossing her arms. “Now we have to wait another hour until it bubbles up again.”

“Oh.” Another hour? Shit. He should have been paying attention.

Why wasn't he paying attention again?

Virginia looked at him. “You're never this inattentive when it comes to an experiment. Is something the matter?”

Oh, yeah.

“It's nothing,” Tweedy said. “Just wondering what I would have for lunch or something. Or if I'd have lunch at all.”

“Why would you skip lunch?” Virginia asked.

“I have much going on.”

Virginia tilted her head. “You weren't thinking about me, were you?”

“What, me? Thinking about you? Of course not!” Tweedy waved his hands. “I mean, I would think about you, because we're in the same room, but if you mean what I think you mean–”

“I see.” Virginia cut him off before he could babble any more. “I just thought that since it hadn't been too long after I had rejected you, you might still be experiencing some discomfort around me.”

“Why would I be uncomfortable around you?” Tweedy asked. He shot a smile at her. “We're friends.”

Virginia stared at him, before managing a smile of her own. “If you say so,” she said. “Waiting one more hour isn't going to be too much trouble for you, is it? I know it isn't for me.”

“Oh, no, it's not like I had much else to do.” Tweedy shrugged. “It's my fault anyway, I ought to stay.”

“It is your fault,” Virginia said, nodding.

Tweedy chuckled. “That stings!”

Actually, that wasn't a lie.

 

* * *

 

He should have gotten the second message much earlier than he did, when it was clear Virginia didn't like him back. He kept flirting anyway, trying to keep dead hope alive, maybe she'd like him someday. But all that did was turn her further away from him.

Virginia was a creation of a benevolent God, yes – in a way, a vision, a messenger, an angel. But the message she brought was that she was not for him. She was untouchable.

It was his fault, anyway. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up. And damn it all, he shouldn't have gotten so caught up in Helsby's schemes. But if Helsby hadn't had the idea for him to try to woo Virginia, would he have tried it anyway?

He didn't know.

It was a rainy night, then, that Tweedy came into his room, finally allowing himself to be alone with his thoughts. Thunder rolled above as the storm washed over the roof of the Society, but he didn't feel as excited as he was about the lightning.

Because lightning was proof of God's power – and God had made lightning as untouchable to him as Virginia was.

He shouldn't be thinking so much about her, but he guessed it was unavoidable. He chased lightning, it would make sense he chased her too. He chased a vision, a messenger, something that was not his to take.

That night, after preparing to go to bed, Tweedy stared down at his bed. He didn't feel like sleeping yet, but he didn't feel like pacing around his room in thought.

So he knelt down and placed his hands together, like he did as a child.

Tweedy then thought a long time about what he would say to the higher powers, wherever they may be.

He could be grateful about getting to see Virginia today. He could ask for her well-being. He could ask to have his feelings for her taken away.

But after a long time pondering, he went to bed without saying anything.

Because Tweedy was not a religious man, just lovesick; and God probably didn't exist anyway.

 

**Author's Note:**

> To explain the title, not only is Virginia likened to an angel, but also the word angel means "messenger", like with the various messages around here. Fun, huh?


End file.
